Dishonesty
by choosestarlight
Summary: Needs a better title, I know. Jack meets a dishonest young woman and takes her along on an adventure. If she's a Mary Sue, she hasn't told me yet and neither has anyone else. REVIEW!
1. Tortuga

Disclaimer: I own nothing from POTC. No people, or places, or awesome actors named Johnny, or anything. whimper  
  
Chapter 1: Tortuga  
  
A young woman is sneaking through a house. There's no real need to be quiet, as the proprietor is having a party and no one is likely to notice mysterious footsteps, but she goes on tiptoes anyway. She removes a small pouch of gold from the gentleman's desk - too small for her taste, but beggars can't be choosers - and, drawing her itchy gray cloak around her shoulders, exits the house through a window. It's a short drop into an unused garden. In a moment she is gone as if she had never been there at all.  
  
She gives most of the gold to a rumrunner to pay for passage to Tortuga. The rumrunners are the only seamen who were willing to sail out after dark, and she's lucky that one is in port. They arrive in Tortuga just after dawn. The young woman in the gray cloak dashes to a tavern and is greeted enthusiastically outside by a blonde whore.  
  
"Janie! What brings you 'ere, luv?"  
  
Jane brishes off the greeting and asks, "Listen Giselle, are there and pirate ships leaving soon? I need to get away fast."  
  
Giselle ponders, twirling a strand of dirty hair. "Aye. The Black Pearl leaves tonight. Captained by Jack Sparrow." She grins saucily. "If ye get a chance wi' 'im, luv, take it! 'E's quite the legend wi' the ladies 'round 'ere."   
  
Jane smiles and presses a coin into Giselle's hand. The whore leads Jane into the pub, which is doing a brisk business despite the early hour. She points to a table in the corner. "That's 'im," she says.  
  
Jane uses her last coin to buy a rum, which she delivers to the man indicated. His hat is pulled low over his dark hair, which seems to make a jingling noise as he moves his head. Jane sets the mug in front of him and sits down across from him at the table.  
  
"Captain Sparrow, I think you have somehting I want."  
  
He looks up and grins, showing a few gold teeth. "I've been hearing that a lot around here. What can I do for you, luv?"  
  
"I need money, and I can do something for you in return. I can make you immortal."  
  
Jack shudders at her choice of words. "What do you mean, luv? I'm already famous."  
  
She leans forward, eyes narrowed. "Sure, you're famous now. But what about a hundred years hence? If I write a book about you and all you fantastic escapades, your name will go down in history as the greatest pirate who ever lived."  
  
He considers this, stroking his chin with his eyes half closed. "You're out of luck, luv. I'm leaving on a venture tonight." Seeing a downcast look on her pretty face, he quickly adds, "But I suppose if you promise to stay out of the way you might tag along."  
  
She gives a relieved and happy smile and replies, "Thank you, Captain. You won't even know I'm there."  
  
He waves his hand at her in an ambiguous gesture. "Be at the docks this afternoon . . . er, what did you say your name was, luv?"  
  
"Jane Shilling," she says. They shake hands and he rises to leave.  
  
"So many taverns, so little time!" he calls over his shoulder to her, making his way unsteadily out the door. He bumps into Mr. Gibbs, who follows him out.  
  
"Ye think this is wise, Captain? Taking some wench on a venture like this one?" he says, nervously rubbing his bushy sideburns.  
  
"She'll be fine, Gibbs. I'll be taking good care of this one," Jack responds lightly, clapping his friend on the shoulder. "Will a rum cure your worries, mate?"  
  
Gibbs grins. "Aye, that'll about do it."  
  
Much later, Jane finds her way to the docks. They are humming with activity as the Pearl's crew readies to make sail. No one takes any notice of her as she boards and walks with a determined step to the wheel where Captain Jack Sparrow is overseeing the preparations. Now and then he shouts at his scurrying crew, but they know their business. He doesn't notice Jane either, until she is standing right in front of him.   
  
"'Ello, luv! Glad to see you've made it!" he says jovially, waving at her.  
  
"I'd like a word, Captain," she says quietly.  
  
"Alright, go wait in me cabin. Those big doors there." He gestures. She frowns but follows his directions.   
  
After a long while, he opens the door to his cabin to find her seated at the table with a pair of sturdy boots propped up on the fine American oak. He winces slightly at the sight, and she swiftly removes them to the floor.  
  
"I was wondering, is this venture dangerous?" she asks, her expression serious.  
  
He decides not to lie. "A little bit. But then again, everything we pirates do is dangerous."  
  
"Yes, I understand that. Is there any chance we might . . ." she pauses, searching for the right words. "Is there any chance we might run into the navy? And if we do, will I be hanged with the rest of you?"  
  
"Firstly, we steer clear of the navy. Commodore Norrington of Port Royal doesn't like me, though I can't imagine why. Secondly, even if they spot us, they'll never be able to chase us. This is the fastest ship in the Caribbean, nigh uncatchable. Lastly, if we run into the navy and if we get caught, I swear on pain of death I will not let you hang, as long as you scribble me up a top-notch biography, savvy?"  
  
She grins. "We have an accord!"  
  
Jane Shilling then takes leave of the captain and goes out on deck. Tortuga is now behind them, the sun sinking behind the island on her former life. Ahead, the darkness was gathering.

A/N: Please review! This is my first fanfic, so I'd really appreciate some feedback. Thank you for reading!


	2. Useful

Chapter 2: Useful  
  
Jane doesn't ask where the pirates are going. As far as she is concerned, the less she knows, the better. At first the crew keeps their distance from her. Though she sleeps in a hammock like the rest of them, Mr. Gibbs is obliged to keep an eye on her to make sure that no one tries any mischief.   
  
These circumstances bother Jane. She is not the type of person who enjoys being treated with cold and distant respect, so she sets about earning the genuine respect of everyone from the cabin boy to the captain himself.  
  
In the evening, most of the crew gathers in the waist of the ship. They tell stories of their homes and sing old songs. The second night out of Tortuga, Jane decides to speak up.  
  
"Has anyone ever heard the tale of Blackbeard?" she asks.  
  
"O' course we did!" some sailors chorus. "What kinda pirate don't know 'bout 'him?"  
  
She just smiles a little and then says, "Have you heard the story of how he decided to make a hell of his own?"  
  
They glare warily at her, but she knows she has them. She delicately weaves a tapestry of words depicting Captain Teach and his terrible beard, and the incident in which he took some of his men into the hold, closed up the hatches, and built brimstone fires to see who could hold out the longest.   
  
"And who do you think it was, men?" she asks, glancing at the pirates around her. "What do you say, Mr. Cotton?"  
  
"Man overboard!" squaks Cotton's parrot.   
  
"That's right," she continues, not missing a beat. "Old Blackbeard nearly suffocated himself, but he held out longer than the other two."  
  
A ripple of approval passes through the crowd. Jack looks on from the wheel, closing his compass with a snap. The little lady had held a bunch of scurvy pirates spellbound by telling them a tar's tale. He was quite impressed.  
  
Later, when the night watch comes on, they go to his cabin to begin the literary work. Aided by his faithful rum bottle, Jack narrates a story so unbelievable that Jane drops her pen several times in astonishment, leaving large ink blots on the paper.   
  
"Cursed skeleton pirates? Do you really think anyone will believe this, Jack?"  
  
"Well that's your job. You make them believe. This is the truth, luv, every single word of it." He streaches and yawns. "Tell me about yourself now. Who's your family?"  
  
"My father was a solicitor. He died in America a few years ago." This is a lie. Her father is currently a surgeon in the British Royla Navy, and has disowned her. "My mother was a gipsy. She died when I was a baby." This is true. Jane isn't intending to tell the truth, it just comes out.  
  
Jack nods and smirks. "Bet his parents didn't exactly approve of the match. Quite a Romeo and Juliet story, innit?"  
  
Jane raises an eyebrow. "What kind of pirate makes Shakespeare references?"  
  
She spends the next day making sense of the notes she took on Jack's story. She wants to tone it down, but Jack won't hear of it. He insists that everything is true and that several people could vouch for him, but Jane doesn't bother making inquiries.  
  
As the days pass, Jack begins to doubt Jane's sanity. She has started to dress like a man and the crew treat her like a younger sister. He supposes that she must remind them of a sister, or maybe a mother, or a daughter, or a wife. But definitely not a favorite prostitute. She tells by far the best stories, even better than Gibbs. "_Aye, sea turtles_," Jack murmurs to himself. If she believes her own stories, as a part of her must because she tells them so well, then why is it so difficult for her to believe his? Most wenches hear the words "cursed treasure" and can't keep their hands off him, but this one is different. Ahh well. She'll be convinced eventually, he is sure.  
  
When they go to his cabin that night, he tells her to put her pen away. "We're nearing our destination," he says enigmatically.  
  
"I'll leave then," she says quickly, getting up to leave. Her intuition tells her to suspect something. There must have been a reason he called her in . . .   
  
"Stay Jane," he says. "I want to tell you something. We are a few leagues away from the Isla de Muerta. I want you to accompany me onto the island so you can see the place for yourself. And I have a . . . er, an errand to do. Yes!" He takes a swig of rum and offers her the bottle, which she accetps.  
  
Pirates are one thing. But curses? Jane doesn't want to get involved, but it seems to be too late.  
  
"You're taking a piece of gold. Why?"  
  
He looks surprised. "Very astute observation, luv. When I put the little gold coin back into the little stone chest, I thought it might be useful to be immortal sometime. Will wanted me to destroy the compass, but I wouldn't do it. He's a bloody eunuch anyway," he grumbles, snatching back the bottle and taking another swig. "Ye see," he continues, voice slurring, hand gestures becoming larger, "I 'heard of this ship called The Royal Henry. She's loaded wi' treasure; gold, gems, rum . . ." he trails off and drains the rest of the bottle. "But it cannot be taken by any mortal captain."  
  
Jane stares, aghast at this impossibility. She stammers, "Er, Jack, you've just swallowed that entire bottle of rum. I don't believe you're thinking clearly!"  
  
"I didn't _swallow_ it, Janet, I _Sparrowed_ it!"

A/N: Gotta love puns. Come on people, SOMEONE must have read this story!! First reviewer gets a cool pirate hat!!


	3. Gamble, Lie, Steal

Chapter 3: Gamble, Lie, Steal  
  
Jane is shaken awake at dawn by Mr. Gibbs. The Isla de Muerta is swathed in a thick, mysterious fog. Jane wears her old cloak over her shirt, sash, and breeches to keep off the chill. Jack takes along a bottle of rum for the same purpose.   
  
He helps her into a yawl with exaggerated courtesy, and when she is out of hearing Gibbs murmurs, "Ten shillings, Captain. I'll be spendin' it in Tortuga 'afore the month's out."  
  
Jack makes a face at him. "Don't get your hopes up, mate. As soon as the curse is lifted, she'll be keeping my bed warm. And I'll be eleven shillings richer!"  
  
He hops down into the boat, leaving Gibbs to ponder where that other shilling came from.  
  
They row the yawl into a cave. It is dark except for the lantern Jane is holding and the occasional shaft of light from a hole in the ceiling. Jack rows slowly, memories drifting back toward the day he arrived here with young Will Turner.   
  
He breaks the silence by saying, "What did you bring along the pistol for?"  
  
Jane looks up sharply. "I just thought this might be dangerous. Pirate treasure, and all that."  
  
Jack snickers. "Look around, luv! We raided this cave and spent the money months ago. Where'd ye get it anyway?"  
  
"I won it in a card game in Tortuga."  
  
"No ye didn't," he replies, grinning at her expression of surprise. "Gibbs told me he gave it to you in case any unwanted attentions were bestowed upon you. But you haven't been experiencing anything of that sort, have you?"   
  
"No," she answers, miffed. "If you knew that, why did you as me?"  
  
"Simply to see what you would say. Now that I know you're a pathological liar, we should get along famously." He winks cheekily and she furiously blushes in the dark, muttering curses under her breath.  
  
They finally arrive at the main chamber of the cave, where, Jane supposed, the big swordfight must have taken place while the navy and the cursed pirates battled outside. She dismissed this thought as quickly as it entered her mind. _Pathological liar indeed! Well, it takes one to know one._   
  
Jack scrambles over the rocks and through puddles to a great stone chest with a very solemn, determined expression on his face. Jane follows, intensely curious. With a grunt, he slides the lid off the chest, and there it lies. Eight hundred and eighty-two pieces of gold engraved with a skull design. Both stand reverently for a moment, until Jack reackes in and snatches a piece. Jane would swear the temperature dropped ten degrees. An unusual breeze blew through the chamber, carrying a sound somewhere between a squeak and a snarl. Jack jumped and his eyes were suddenly haunted with fear. He spun around abruptly and glared about the cave muttering, "Monkey . . ."  
  
Jane took advantage of his distraction to pick up a medallion and examine it. Before she could return it, Jack began to slowly turn around. Therefore, Jane Shilling did what any less-than-honest, quick-thinking woman in her situation would do. She stuffed the medallion down her shirtfront and out of his sight.  
  
Once they are out of the cave, Jane points out another ship anchored next to the Black Pearl. It is much smaller and in far worse condition. She points it out to Jack, and he cranes his neck around her shoulder to see.  
  
"Bloody hell! It's Ana Maria! What the devil could she want? Listen, Janet," he says, voice dropping low as if the female pirate were lurking behind a nearby rock, "you are NOT to say anything about the Royal Henry. If she asks what I was doing in the cave, tell her I was counting the treasure of Cortez to make sure none was missing. Savvy?"  
  
Jane raises her eyebrows innocently. "You want me to lie to her?"  
  
He flashes a grin. "Told ye we'd get along famously."  
  
"We would if you shared that bottle."  
  
"Ahh, a woman after me own heart." 


	4. Conversations

A/N: Still no reviews? Alright, mates. You drive a hard bargain. First reviewer gets the awesome pirate hat AND a monkey named Jack. Who could pass up that offer?

Chapter 4: Conversations  
  
It is no secret that pirates love parties. From the moment Jack and Jane return to the ship from Isla de Muerta, the rum never stops flowing. Some musicians from Ana Maria's crew bring out their fiddles to add to the fesitvities. Old friendships are renewed, and old fueds are forgotten, and nearly everyone surrenders to joyful abandon.  
  
The two captains are not to be found on deck with the others. Ana Maria has Jack cornered in his cabin, and there is no hope of escaping her while she is sober. His soltuion is to give her a bottle of rum and wait for the oppertune moment. Sadly for Jack, he has forgotten how well the female pirate holds her liquor.  
  
"So what happened to yer ship?" he inquires. "It looks like it's been to hell and back!"  
  
"I haven't been to hell, but I've been attacked by the devil," she replies bitterly.  
  
"What colors?"  
  
"Red with a black skull. I've never seen it before. But if I ever see it again, so help me! I will take every crew member and blow out their brains! I will have their captain keelhauled and burned beyond recognition! I will -"  
  
"Erm, so anyway," Jack says, interrupting her tirade, "How'd they beat you so badly? Your Neptune is nearly as good a ship as my Pearl."  
  
Ana Maria gazes darkly at the bottle, as if trying to shatter it with her mind. "I do not know. We had them outgunned and outmanned, but our shots never seemed to hit home. They crippled us in a matter of minutes, boarded us, and robbed us blind. But this is the queer part," she pauses, listening. Suddenly the door is thrown open by a drunken sailor singing loudly and incoherently about his bonny lass. The captains just sit there staring at him until he finishes the verse and stumbles off. Then Ana Maria continues her story.  
  
"Later we found a man overboard and fished him out. He said he belonged to the other ship, the Royal Henry, I think he called it. He said it was impossible for any mortal captain to defeat. I said he was daft and locked him in the brig. I haven't yet decided what to do to him," she adds, sounding thoughtful.  
  
Jack is now sitting up straight in his chair and gripping the arms with white knuckles. "Did you say the Royal Henry?"

It is much later at night. The sun has set and the stars shine brightly. Ana Maria and her crew are back on the Neptune, and Jane and most of Jack's crew are below decks in their hammocks. Jane has a splitting headache and decides not to act as Jack's personal diary tonight. No matter how much rum she drank, she was still thirsty. Now she was paying for it. However, she does have a conversation with Mr. Gibbs, who seems slightly on edge.  
  
"What's wrong, Gibbs?"  
  
"Nothin', miss. It's nothin'."  
  
She rolls her eyes. "There must be something bothering you. Your hammock shakes like a palm tree in a hurricane. Quit tossing and turning and get it off your chest."  
  
He sighs loudly. "Well, ye've persuaded me. Jack says yer very persuasive."  
  
"He does?"  
  
"Aye. And a good listener."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Aye. What's botherin' me is this: I get a bad feelin' every time we get near this island. Sure, I know the curse is lifted, but it still shivvers me timbers, if ye know what I mean."  
  
"The curse? What, you mean Jack's wild stories about the skeleton pirates were true?"  
  
"Aye, missy. As true as my name's Gibbs."  
  
Her eyes shine round and bright in the darkness, and her hand goes instinctively to her chest where the medallion is still hidden. She mumbles some reassurances to the old pirate, and soon he is fast asleep.  
  
Jane wraps her cloak tightly around her body and creeps up onto the deck. Luckily, the few men on deck are passed out cold. The fog drifting off the sinister little island seems to have dissapated, leaving the waist of the great ship drenched in moonlight. She fleetingly wonders if the clearness of the night is due to the stiff breeze. Slowly removing the cloak, she lets it fall to the deck, and then looks down at her body and nearly screams. The clothes are ripped and tattered and look as though they spent years in a grave, and her tanned skin is replaced by white, fleshless bones. The sight nauseates and fascinates Jane as she raises her arms, turning her hands over in the moonlight. She does not hear the footsteps behind her, or even guess that anyone else is on deck besides herself until a hand - a skeletal hand - is clapped over her mouth and she is dragged into the cabin and out of the moonlight.  
  
She whirls around and is about to scream for help when she realizes who her assaulter is.  
  
"Jack! What's going on? What has happened to me?"  
  
Hands still on her shoulders, he directs her to a chair, forces her to sit, and shoves a rum bottle to her. Sitting down opposite her, he leans across the table and stares intensely, punctuatig every phrase with arm motions.   
  
"Weren't you listening to me? Any bloody mortal that takes a bloody piece of gold from the bloody chest is cursed. And you are a stupid bloody mortal, are you not?"  
  
"No, I suppose I'm not anymore."  
  
He throws up his hands and waves them about angrily. "Why couldn't you be a good little girl and keep your hands off the gold? There's probably more pirate in you than bloody stupid Will!"  
  
"I don't see why you're so angry. I can just put it back."  
  
"No, you can't, because we've slipped our cable. Isla de Muerta is leagues behind. Haven't you noticed the fog was gone? Never mind, don't answer that," he adds as an afterthought. "We can't turn back. If we waste any more time the Royal Henry will be gone and so will her treasure, and my men will not be very happy, savvy? So if you could just kindly stay inside once it gets dark I'd be much obliged. Pirates are superstitious as it is without having a cursed woman running about."  
  
"You seem to forget that you're cursed too," Jane responds indignantly. "Won't they notice that their captain refuses to come out after dark? Plus, Gibbs is already suspicious. He told me so tonight."  
  
Jack sighs, and suddenly looks very tired. "What would you have me do? Let you sleep in here with me?"  
  
She tilts her head to one side. "That could work."  
  
"Oh no! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! I didn't mean that!"  
  
"What's the matter Captain, afraid I have cooties?"  
  
"There's another part of the curse I forgot to mention," he says hesitantly. "But maybe I shouldn't be telling you any more about this. I can't trust you, but . . ."  
  
"You can always count on a dishonest person to be dishonest," Jane supplies helpfully.  
  
"Right. I'm starting to like you anyway. But herein lies the problem, luv. When you're under the curse, food and drink do not satisfy. And neither does, erm, pleasure."  
  
Jane trys to stifle a laugh. "You thought I wanted to sleep with you? Have you never shared your cabin with anyone?" Seeing his befuddled expression, she continued more kindly, "I will sleep on the floor or something. After we're quit of the curse, we'll see. How's that?"  
  
He smiles slowly. "That's good."  
  
"Good then. All I need is a blanket and pillow."  
  
With these things supplied, Jane falls asleep. She is surprisingly calm despite the curse.  
  
Jack is more restless. Now there are two pieces of the treasure to worry about, an attarctive woman on his floor and not in his bed, and the bet with Gibbs is still on and now much more difficult to win. _No point doing something if you can't enjoy it,_ he thinks to himself bitterly. _But I do kind of like her, if I could ever get the truth out of her._ In truth, she is beautiful, but not like Elizabeth. Jane's dark hair and complexion betray her gypsy heritage; she is no English rose. But her self-assurance, the confidence of knowing she will always land on her feet, and even her sarcastic sense of humor all appeal to Jack more than he would care to admit.  
  
The Royal Henry, the curse, Jane - it is all too much for one poor pirate to ponder.   
  
A/N: Don't forget to review! Pirate hat and monkey named Jack up for grabs here!! 


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